Eight Women Killed In Less Than 10 Days:Recognizing The Warning Signs

The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family told the National Assembly in June that around 50 femicides had already been recorded in the first four months of 2026; civil society groups now estimate the year’s total has passed 60 — higher than the same period in 2024 and 2025.

WHAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH:

-Yaounde–Nsimalen Highway (Aug 11): Kenfack Fortune was ejected from a speeding vehicle and died of her injuries hours later.

– Efoulan, Yaounde (Aug 8–9): Diane Yidi Ebabi, 19, was strangled by her boyfriend following a dispute; he kept her body in his room for two days before burying it in a pit. He was arrested nine days later and confessed.

– Tsinga, Yaounde (Aug 21): A woman, mother of three, was killed and decapitated; her body was found hidden under the bed. Her partner fled with the children to Kumba, in the South West Region, before being arrested.

– Douala,  (Aug 22): 34-year-old Modestine, was killed with a butcher’s knife by her husband in front of their two young children after he barricaded the doors from inside. Her body bearing multiple deep wounds, one of her hands almost severed.

– Near Meiganga, Adamaoua Region: Rougaïatou Saidou, 38, a trader, disappeared in late July; her body was later found buried near an abandoned house. A suspect, now known to be her companion has confessed to the act.

– Mefou-et-Afamba: A young woman was found dead on a road in what investigators believe was a killing staged to resemble a traffic accident.

– Belabo,  Est Region: A young woman was found raped and killed; her attacker has not been identified.

– Yaounde (Aug 26): Beguel Crescence Merline, 44, was foung in a hotel room with  stab wounds and her throat, apparently by a man she met online.

RED FLAGS THAT PRECEDE VIOLENCE — WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN A PARTNER

All these incidents  paint a disturbing picture of violence that seem to mostly target women. According to Barrister Edwan Ngum Tebe, lawyer and gender-based violence activist, violence does not necessarily begin with physical assault. In an Interview, she states,  there are warning signs women and their loved ones should not ignore.

“Some red flags in partners include extreme control: you have a partner who demands access to phones, regulating your dressing choices, or barring you from visiting family or working. Those are red flags. Hyper-jealousy: accusing her of infidelity without cause, and monitoring her movements or locations constantly. We also have explosive anger: breaking objects, punching walls, or making direct or indirect threats to her life or her children’s safety.”

Women must be vigilant then and watch out for

Extreme control and jealousy
Escalating aggression starting with insults, moving to pushing, then slapping, then choking.
Explosive anger directed at objects punching walls, breaking things, brandishing weapons to intimidate, even without direct physical contact.
Death threats including indirect ones
Financial control
Shifting blame insisting she is responsible for provoking his anger or violence.
A sense of ownership language and behavior
Isolation, cutting a woman off from friends, family, religious or community networks.

Another human Rights Activist and Social worker, Jean Roger Gerard Ndebi, states, prevention begins with recognizing the warning signs and refusing to remain silent.

“These are the red flags that precede 90% of feminicide: extreme jealousy and control… Escalation of violence starts with insults, then pushing, then slapping, then strangulation. Strangulation is the most serious predictor of feminicide.”

According to both experts,  femicide, often follows months of imposed isolation and more often, when a woman announces she is leaving. This moment requires the highest level of caution and support.

Cynthia Ibong Sabtala